Vegan Navratan Korma with Chana Dal

When I visit my parents and we go out for Indian food, this is the dish my mom usually wants to order. It's a stew-like dish, usually made with a cashew-cream sauce (at least at the restaurants we go to). My mom likes the creamy smoothness of the dishes and the "jewels" of vegetables. According to various sources (and menus!) "navratan" means "nine jewels" and refers to the mixture of vegetables in this dish.

The restaurants we've had this at in the past generally make it in a North Indian style. If you're not familiar with the differences between North and South Indian cuisine, it's kind of like nothern versus southern Italian food. Northern Indian cooking is more cream-based while southern Indian cuisine relies more heavily on tomatoes (among other differences). This recipe blends north and south Indian cooking styles, which adds a bit of complexity to the meal.

This recipe, modified from one posted at Lisa's Kitchen, is a new staple in my house. I've made it for vegans and non-vegans alike and since I first discovered it in early April, I've made it five times. About three weeks ago, I had a bunch of people over for a potluck (in theory it was an Indian-food themed potluck, but it only kind of worked out that way) and this dish went quickly, despite the fact that I more than doubled it. Reduce the amount of chiles if you like less spice, or if your dried chiles are particularly hot (mine are). It goes well with quinoa or rice, if you're gluten-free (or with gluten-free naan, recipe coming soon). You might serve it with a cooling drink like a smoothie, mango lassi, or even (wrong culture, I know) horchata.

If you're not into eating tons of leftovers and you don't need to feed 8, the recipe cuts in half fairly easily. That's what I usually do when I'm not feeding a large crowd. If you buy your ingredients in bulk and/or at an Indian/Pakistani (these are my options) food market, you make this meal cheaply many times over.

Vegan Navratan Korma with Chana Dal

2/3 cup of chana dal (or yellow split peas), soaked for at least three hours
2 tablespoons of high quality vegetable oil
1 small sweet onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
2 1/4 cups of water
1 large potato, diced
3 large carrots, diced
2 cups frozen peas
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
handful of dry curry leaves (optional, but they make a lovely addition if you can get your hands on them. Fresh would work also)

For the paste:

1/2 cup of dried, unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup of cashews
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
1 teaspoons of cumin seeds
2-3 whole dried red chilies
2-inch piece of ginger, chopped

For the tadka:

1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
pinch or two of asafetida (you can sub in about a tablespoon of lime juice in a pinch, but it won’t be the same) 2- 4 whole dried red chilies

Begin by making the paste. Soak the coconut in 1/2 cup of hot water for 10 - 15 minutes. Drain. Soak the cashews in some warm water for 10 - 15 minutes. Drain. Dry roast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and dried red chili over medium heat for a few minutes. Transfer the coconut, cashews and roasted seeds to a food processor or blender along with the ginger and green chilies. Process until you have a fairly smooth paste (in my food processor, this takes some pulsing and some additional water – you’d like this to look as much like cashew butter as possible). Add a bit of water if desired.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When hot, toss in the onion and stir and fry until it is translucent. Add the tomatoes to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes or until they thicken up and have a sauce-like consistency. Drain the chana dal and add to the pot along with 2 1/4 cups of water. Simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until the chana dal is just tender. Add the carrots, potato, turmeric and cayenne. Continue to simmer until the vegetables are tender. You can add more water to achieve your desired consistency.
Now add the ground paste to the pot and the sea salt. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for another 10 - 15 minutes. Add peas and curry leaves to the pan near the end of the cooking time.

To prepare the tadka, heat a few teaspoons of oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. When hot, toss in the mustard seeds, fennel, dried red chilies, and asafetida. Stir and fry until the mustard and fennel seeds begin to pop. Immediately pour into the vegetable pot, stir and cover and let sit for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to blend.

Serves 8.

Eating on the Road (Or in the Office) -- Vegan Quiche

One of the things I struggle with when I'm on campus for the day: lunch. I need something and eventually I get tired of sandwiches--hummus & tomato; hummus, tomato & avocado; peanut butter; peanut butter & jelly or peanut butter & banana.

I have to take food that's not going to get smashed and doesn't (necessarily) need to be refrigerated. For a while, I took rice & fruit salads, or millet dishes, or wraps with beans and veggies.

But I get tired of these things too--or run out of ingredients (at least as likely). Or I just want something different--for instance, now that it's getting colder, something that can be microwaved and make me feel a little warmer.

One of my current favorites is a vegan quiche recipe. I'm not vegan--but the nice thing about this (as opposed to an egg-based quiche) is that I feel less like I'm going to die if it's not refrigerated (a fear I find slightly ridiculous anyway). Since I use aseptically packaged Nori tofu (you can find this at most grocery stores, usually in the "Asian" or "International" sections), I feel like maybe my food has had less opportunity to pick up germs. I also realize that this rationalization isn't in fact all that rationale. Nevertheless, this little pie works well for me and it travels easily.

I discovered it over the summer on 101 cookbooks and modified it to meet my tastes. One of the great things about this quiche is that it's easy to modify. If you don't like lima beans, use something else that has about the same amount of bulk. I often add a cup of mixed frozen veggies. If you don't have garbanzo bean flour, you can use more whole wheat. If you like it spicier (and I do), add more red pepper flakes. And if you don't have a lemon, lime juice works as well (or even just a little more rice wine vinegar--though this does alter the taste some).

Vegan Spinach-Mushroom Quiche
1/2 cup rolled oats (quick or old fashioned)
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup garbanzo bean flour (or more whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly milled black pepper
1/3 cup unflavored soy milk or water
1/3 cup light sesame oil or pure olive oil plus more for brushing the pan

For the filling:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup finely diced onion
10 ounces white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 cup zucchini, diced
2 tablespoons white wine (semi-dry works well)
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
10 ounces frozen, chopped spinach
1 cup frozen lima beans
1 roasted garlic clove (see note)
10 to 12 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes, divided
1 10-ounce package soft tofu, rinsed
2 tablespoons flaxseed
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Paprika for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350. Meanwhile, to make the crust, spread the oats and sesame seeds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8 minutes while the oven is heating (watch them carefully to make sure they don’t burn). Transfer the toasted oats and sesame seeds to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the flours, baking powder, salt, and pepper, and process until the oats are finely ground.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy milk and oil. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the dry ingredients to form a dough. Lightly brush a 9-inch or 10-inch tart pan with oil. Put the dough in the tart pan. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the dough and press down evenly, making sure to fill in the fluted sides of the pan. Trim the tart of any excess dough and refrigerate while you make the filling.

To make the filling, in a wide saute pan over medium heat, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, mushroom, and zucchini. Raise the heat to high, and saute for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring and shaking the pan until the vegetables are caramelized and the pan is mostly dry. Add the wine and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1 teaspoon pepper flakes. Add frozen spinach and limas continue to cook until dry, stirring frequently. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the vegetables into a mixing bowl and set aside.

Dump tofu into the bowl of the food processor. Add the flaxseed, basil, thyme, nutritional yeast flakes, lemon juice, vinegar, remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, and remaining 1 teaspoon pepper flakes and puree until smooth. With a rubber spatula, scrape the puree into the mushroom-onion mixture.

Fill the tart shell with the tofu and vegetable mixture and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Dust with Paprika. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until firm.
Let the tart cool for 8 to 10 minutes before slicing and serving.


**Note: If you don't have fresh herbs, dried ones will work too. Season to taste.
**Note: If you don't have ground flax, it's not the end of the world. Leave it out and don't worry.

Pictures to come soon!

Red Indian Stew for Just a Few

This dish can be as mild or spicy as you like--and if you prefer more spicy than someone you'll be eating it with, kick the spice up some and serve the stew with a dollop of yogurt, which can be mixed in to cut the heat for those people with more sensitive tongues.

One of the great things about this stew is that it is rather forgiving. If you don't have the exact ingredients listed below, substitute--especially when it comes to your choice of protein. I've used chickpeas, Quorn, TVP crumbles, lentils, navy beans, shrimp, squid, and kidney beans in this in the past. This particular incarnation calls for lentils, because that's what I had on hand, and the end of this summer's zuchinni.

Dad came up the original vegetarian version of this stew--it originally used chicken--and then modified it to suit our tastes.

Red Indian Stew for Just a Few
2 teaspoons Garam Masala
+/- ½ tablespoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon tres ochos pepper (optional, for additional heat)
1/2 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup chopped onions
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large zuchinni, chopped
2 medium potatoes, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 ounces dried brown lentils
1 clove chopped garlic
1 cup canned tomatoes, chopped or diced
1 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup chopped cabbage
Yogurt, optional

In a small bowl, combine the Garam Masala, crushed red pepper, and paprika. Mix well. Set aside.

Heat oil in a medium saute pan, over medium heat, When the oil is hot, add the onions to the pan, sauté until golden brown and season with salt and pepper. Add the zuchinni, potatoes, and carrot. Saute 3-5 minutes. Add the lentils, garlic, tomatoes and ginger. Continue to sauté for 1 – 3 minutes.

Add the stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes and lentils tender. Add the cabbage and cook another 3-4 minutes, until the cabbage has just started to cook. Remove from the heat and serve with rice or naan, and a dollop of yogurt (optional). Serves 3-4, depending on your appetite!